Turkey eyes strategic foothold in Bangladesh with defence zones

A top Turkish defence industry executive is expected to visit Bangladesh next week as the two countries seek to expand military-industry partnership.

Haluk Gorgun, head of Turkey's Defence Industry Agency (SSB), is due in Dhaka on July 8 for a day-long visit during which he will pay a courtesy call on interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, people familiar with the development said.

Gorgun will also meet army chief Gen Waqar-uz-Zaman, navy chief Admiral M Nazmul Hasan and air force chief Air Chief Marshal Hassan Mahmud Khan.


Turkey, which had limited presence in Bangladesh under the Sheikh Hasina government, is looking to expand its strategic footprint in Dhaka while Bangladesh is planning to set up two defence industry complexes with Turkey's support for domestic issue as well as exports.

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), the country's apex investment promotion agency, is planning to establish defence industrial complexes in Chittagong and Narayanganj in partnership with Turkish defence firms. BIDA executive chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun was on a five-day trip to Turkey recently.

Bangladesh needs a reliable partner in aerospace technology and it would be a win-win situation for both Bangladesh and Turkey if they cooperate with each other, foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain had said at a conference while visiting Turkey in April.

Hossain had a meeting with Turkish Aerospace president and CEO Mehmet Demirolu on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2025, where the two discussed cooperation.